首页 百科知识 英文大小写应用规范初探

英文大小写应用规范初探

时间:2023-02-28 百科知识 版权反馈
【摘要】:在各类英文书稿中,英文单词、标题、句子等的大小写误用的现象屡见不鲜,编辑如能掌握其使用的规范,将会给提高图书的编校质量带来省时省力、事半功倍的效果。本文总结了笔者近年来在审读加工英文书稿、进行业务学习的过程中积累的英文大小写应用规范的一些基本知识,主要从句子、并列出现的多个项目、标题、专有名词及形容词等方面进行了归纳。
英文大小写应用规范初探_现代出版的探索与创新

余 芳 夏 宇

摘要:随着我国改革开放的日益推进、文化事业的蓬勃发展,各类英文书籍的出版日益增多。编辑在审读英文书稿时往往会遇到不少问题,英文的大小写就是其中之一。编辑如能掌握其使用的规范,将会给提高图书的编校质量带来省时省力、事半功倍的效果。笔者对近年来在审读加工英文书稿、进行业务学习的过程中积累的有关英文大小写应用规范的一些基本知识加以总结,主要从句子、并列出现的多个项目、标题、专有名词及形容词等方面进行了归纳。

关键词:英文编校;大小写;句子;并列项目;标题;专有名词、形容词

随着我国改革开放的日益推进、文化事业的蓬勃发展,各类英文书籍的出版日益增多。编辑在审读英文书稿时往往会遇到不少问题,英文的大小写就是其中之一。在各类英文书稿中,英文单词、标题、句子等的大小写误用的现象屡见不鲜,编辑如能掌握其使用的规范,将会给提高图书的编校质量带来省时省力、事半功倍的效果。本文总结了笔者近年来在审读加工英文书稿、进行业务学习的过程中积累的英文大小写应用规范的一些基本知识,主要从句子、并列出现的多个项目、标题、专有名词及形容词等方面进行了归纳。

一、句子当中的大小写

(1)一个句子或者句子片段的第一个单词的首字母大写。如:

I address my brief remarks to the honored teachers the mselves.

Kevin was my daughter Nora's cat.

So many students,so many wishes.

(2)括号中的句子第一个单词的首字母大写。但是,在句子当中出现的括号,括号内的句子一般不用首字母大写,除非这个句子是一句完整的引文。例如:

They were not native Americans.(They came to the States three years ago.)

The road remains almost impassible(the locals don't seem to care),and the journey is only for the intrepid.

After waiting in line for an hour(what else could we do?),we finally left.

In the primary election Evans placed third(“My campaign started late”).

(3)直接引语的第一个单词首字母大写。但是如果引语中间有打断,那么后面部分不用首字母大写。例如:

The hare shook his head and answered,“No,not me.”

“Don't worry,”they said,“he will do fine in kindergarten.”

“I plan to sign him up for testing atthe school,”I said,“just to make sure he is on track.”

(4)一段引语,不论是短语还是完整的句子,只要在句法结构上依附于另一个句子而存在,那么这段引语就不用首字母大写。例如:

The idea that developed out of this experience was the idea of“learner centered”education.

His first response was that“there is absolutely no truth to the reports.”

(5)若一个句子当中包含另一个非直接引语的句子,那么后者首字母通常大写。这些非直接引语的句子包括格言、规则、想象中的对话、直接问句等,还包括已经被指明是句子的句子。例如:

You know the saying“After the stone comes the calm.”

As the saying goes,“Where there is a will,there is a way.”

The first ruleis,Whenindoubt,spellitout.

Myquestion is,Do they really love me?

They are familiar with the usage of pronouns as in sentences“Mum sent the parcel to him”and“They are music fans themselves.”

(6)从传统习惯上看,诗歌中每一诗行的首字母通常都大写。但是,20世纪以来的现代诗歌中,也常有首字母小写的情况。例如:

Tell me not,sweet,I am unkind,

That from the nunnery

Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind

To war and arms I fly.

—Richard Lovelace(1618-1657)

If tributes cannot be implicit,give me diatribes and the fragrance of iodine,the cork oak acorn grown in Spain…

—Marianne Moore(1887-1972)

(7)冒号后如果是列举的几个项目或是一个短句,则冒号后的首字母小写。然而,如果冒号后的句子很长,而且与其前的从句或主句是明显分离的,那么首字母常常大写。例如:

She has trial experience on three judicial levels:county,state,and federal.

Dawn was breaking:the distant peaks were already glowing with the sun's first rays.

The issue comes down to this:Will we offer a reduced curriculum,or will we simply cancel the program?

The situation is critical:This company cannot hope to recoup the fourth quarter losses that were sustained in five operating divisions.

(8)如果冒号后是多个句子,那么每个句子的首字母大写。例如:

Consider the steps we have taken:A subcommittee has been formed to evaluate past performance.New sources of revenue are being explored.Several candidates have been interviewed for the new post of executive director.

二、并列出现的多个项目的大小写

(1)接续排列项目的大小写。接续排列的项目,即在形式正常的句子当中,作为该句子不可或缺的组成部分的一系列项目,其各个项目的首字母应当大写。但是项目前有编号的短语,首字母应当小写。例如:

Among the fastest animals with measured maximum speeds are①the cheetah,clocked at 70 mph;②the pronghorn antelope,at 61 mph;③the lion,at 50 mph;④the quarter horse,at 47 mph; and⑤the elk,at 45 mph.

The new medical dictionary has several special features:(a) common variant spellings;(b)examples of words used in context; (c)abbreviations,combining forms,prefixes,andsuffixes;and (d)brand names for drugs and their generic equivalents.

需要注意的是,项目编号常用数字,其次是字母。若用字母,则字母连同括号往往采用斜体。若项目内容简短,中间无标点,那么各项用逗号分开;若项目较为复杂,中间有标点,那么应采用分号间隔。若列举的项目前是完整的句子,那么项目前应加冒号;反之,则不需加冒号。这些也都反映在了上面的两个例句之中。

(2)纵向排列项目的大小写。纵向排列的项目,若其前的句子结构不完整,即这些项目是该句子结构上不可或缺的组成部分,那么这些项目的首字母均应小写。例如:

Among the courts that are limited to special kinds of cases are

①probate courts,for the estates of deceased persons;

②commercial courts,for business cases;

③juvenile courts,for cases involving children under 18;and

④traffic courts,for minor cases involving highway and motor vehicle violations.

但是,如果纵向排列的项目前,句子的主干结构已经基本完整,那么各个项目的首字母应大写。例如:

The English peerage consists of five ranks,listed here in descending order:

①Duke(duchess)

②Marquess(marchioness)

③Earl(countess)

④Viscount(viscountess)

⑤Baron(baroness)

三、标题的大小写

标题的大小写主要有三种形式:首字母大写,实词首字母大写,以及全部字母大写。

(1)首字母大写。即题名的第一个单词的首字母大写,其余字母均小写。例如:

Research on the risk of fiscal deficits

Meaning and cognitive categorization

Love without limitation

(2)实词首字母大写。实词,包括名词、动词、代词、形容词、副词等,首字母大写;虚词,包括介词、冠词、连词、感叹词,首字母小写(虚词位于标题开头或末尾时需要大写);超过5个字母的虚词,如beneath,without,alongside,between等,首字母可以大写。例如:

Research on the Risk of Fiscal Deficits

Meaning and Cognitive Categorization

Love Without Limitation

(3)全部字母大写。每个单词的所有字母均大写。例如:

RESEARCH ON THE RISK OF FISCAL.DEFICITS

MEANING AND COGNITIVE CATEGORIZATION

LOVE WITHOUT LIMITATION

四、专有名词及形容词的大小写

(1)专有名词与形容词的缩略形式应当大写[1]。例如:

Jan.[for January]

Amer.[for American]

IMF[for International Monetary Fund]

(2)当某些抽象概念与特征被拟人化时往往采用大写,但是当其配合其他指代人类特征与品行的词汇使用时,也可用小写。例如:

as Autumn paints each leaf in fiery colors

the statue of Justice with her scales

hoping that fate would lenda hand

(3)学位名称跟随人名使用时大写;未跟随人名,单独使用时常小写;学位名称的缩写形式往往大写。例如:

Lawton I.Byron,Doctor of Laws

completed course work for his doctorate

working for a master's degree

Susan L.Wycliff,M.S.W.

Received her Ph.D.in clinical psychology

(4)动植物的常用名称一般小写,但若其中包含了某些专有名词,该专有名词大写。

the springer spaniel   Queen Anne's lace

Holstein cows       black-eyed Susan

California condor     may flower

(5)各类奖项名称大写,并非奖项名称构成部分的其他单词与短语小写。例如:

Academy Award

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist

Nobel Prize winner

Nobel Prize in medicine

注意:Nobel Peace Prize中的Peace一词为奖项名称构成部分,应大写。

(6)专有名词的派生词,当其表达的是该专有名词的主要含义时,应大写;当其表达的是其他特殊含义时,常小写。

Roman sculpture   a Britishism

Viennese culture    pasteurized milk

Victorian prudery    french fries

Hodgkin's disease    chinaware

(7)地理、地点等专有名词大写。例如:

用来指代地球表面地理区域、范围划分的名词

Pacific         Rim Burgundy

The Great        Lakes the Highlands

广为接受的地点名称

Little Italy      the Sunbelt

the Left        Bank the Big Bay

通用地理术语,如湖、山、河、峡谷等

Lake Tangayika    Cape of Good Hope

Great Salt Lake    Massachusetts Bay

Mount Everest   Cayman Islands

指代国际、国家、地区等政治、经济区划的名词

the Roman Empire

British Commonwealth nations

European Community

省、州、市、县、乡等行政区划名称作为专有名词的一部分时大写,作为普通名词时小写

Sichuan Province   Washington State

Palm Beach County  Jinjiang District

街道、公园、纪念碑、著名建筑等公共场所名称

Kehua Road     Golden Gate Bridge

the Lincoln Memorial Empire State Building

Statue of Liberty  the Central Park

(8)东、西、南、北等方位名词作为专有名词的一部分时大写。例如:

West Coast      North Pole

East Pleasant Street East Asia

(注意:仅指方向时小写,如drivingeast,west of London)

(9)国家、名族、语言名称大写。例如:

China       Jews

German       Spanish

(10)组织机构等专有名词大写。例如:

the United States Congress

the Supreme Court

National Security Council

Sichuan University

Workers Union of America

Shanghai Foreign Language and Education Press

(11)历史时期、历史事件大写。例如:

Bronze Age    Third Reich

Middle Ages    the Renaissance

New DealFifth   Republic

World War II   the French Revolution

(12)世纪、年代等通常小写。例如:

the nineteenth century  the twenties

the turn of the century

the 12th-century manuscript

(13)会议、展览、音乐、体育、文化等活动名称大写。例如:

Fourth World Conference on Women

New YorkWorld's Fair

the World Expo     Cannes Film Festival

Super Bowl       Miss America Contest

(14)法律、条约、法案等全名大写。例如:

Treaty of Versailles  Clean Air Act of 1990

the Bill of Rights   the Nineteenth Amendment

(15)用连字符连接的复合词,连字符后的单词若为专有名词或形容词则大写,否则小写。例如:

Arab-Israeli negotiations

East-West trade agreement

French-speaking peoples

Forty-second street

(16)疾病、症状、检查等医学专业术语大写;普通名词小写,但其缩写形式应全部字母大写。例如:

Alzheimer's disease   black lung disease

Tourette's syndrome   mumps

Schicktest       AIDS

(17)军事术语及其标准简写形式采用大写。例如:

U.S.Marine Corps   the Marines

the Marine Corps   the Corps

五、其他

(1)信函中称呼语的首字母大写,结尾的礼貌用语首字母也应大写。例如:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Tow hom it may concern:

Sincerely yours,

Very truly yours,

(2)备忘录中SUBJECT(主题)与TO(致)等单词后的内容,实词首字母大写。例如:

SUBJECT:Pension Plans

TO:All Department Heads and Editors

(3)会议记录以及司法文件中的引导词如Whereas,Resolved等,均大写(Resolved同时需用斜体)。这些引导词后紧跟的单词,首字母大写。

Whereas,Substantial benefits…

Resolved,That…

以上是对英文大小写使用规范的一个初步归纳,编辑应注意按具体情况灵活运用。比如同样是冒号后的内容,是短语、短句子还是长句子,与主句关系密切还是相对独立,都会影响到是否使用大写,编辑应按具体情况做出具体判断。总而言之,编校人员应当对英文大小写的基本规范有一个总体性的认识,在工作过程中注意积累,遇到不确定的情况时,要多查辞典,多查英文编校的规范文献等,找到依据。只有这样,才能为广大读者把好质量关。

参考文献

[1]Merriam Webster's Manual for Writers &Editors[M].Springfield,Massachusetts:Merriam-Webster,Incorporated,1998.

[2]The Chicago Manual of Style[M].Chicago:University of Chicago Press,2010.

[3]林穗芳.英语文字规范的一些基本知识[J].出版科学,2006(1).

【注释】

[1]此处及下文的大写,除非明确指出全部字母大写,仅指实词首字母大写。

免责声明:以上内容源自网络,版权归原作者所有,如有侵犯您的原创版权请告知,我们将尽快删除相关内容。

我要反馈